Earlier this week, Epic Games announced Fortnite X Mayhem, a crossover event that looks to bring the world of the highly anticipated Borderlands 3 to Epic's battle royale sensation. Specifically, Fortnite X Mayhem introduces a new Borderlands 3-styled rift zone, a number of Borderlands-themed cosmetic items, and new challenges, including one where players must find Claptrap's eye in Fortnite. While some fans are certainly excited to see this crossover between Fortnite and Borderlands 3 come to pass, others are less than thrilled about the collaboration.
Indeed, a number of Borderlands 3 fans haven taken to outlets such as Instagram, Reddit, and YouTube to express their distaste for Fortnite X Mayhem. On the Borderlands subreddit for instance, threads discussing Fortnite X Mayhem have become the sites for certain users to share harsh words on the collaboration. Much of this commentary comes as posts that essentially just read as "no," but some articulate the negative reaction to the BL3 and Fortnite collaboration further.
For some unhappy fans, this reaction seems to stem from their conception of the Fortnite playerbase, which they appear to believe is comprised of obnoxious children. These fans suggest that Fortnite X Mayhem will bring this undesirable playerbase to Borderlands 3, thus having a negative impact on the overall experience of Gearbox Software's forthcoming shooter. A Redditor encapsulates this position, writing, "I don't feel like trying to go into a co-op and get[ting] bombarded with some kid screaming into the mic."
In essence, these frustrated fans are envisioning a dichotomy with mature Borderlands 3 fans on one side and immature Fortnite players on the other. That said, responders imply that this position is simply a knee-jerk reaction to the immense popularity of Fortnite. "Obligatory 'fork knife bad' comment," a Redditor jokes of the frequent hostile response that the mention of Fortnite can prompt.
Furthermore, the fans that do not have issues with Fortnite X Mayhem suggest that the event will have no impact at all on Borderlands 3. Some even state that bringing new players to the Borderlands franchise will be a net positive. Indeed, while it is possible that introducing Borderlands 3 to the Fortnite playerbase will bring problematic individuals to the game, this could occur when sharing it with any new community, as immature players are certainly not exclusive to Epic's shooter.
Borderlands 3 releases for PC, PS4, and Xbox One on September 13th.